To Re-Gear or Not to Re-Gear?

Hello, I’m running a 22 TRD ORP with a 3” lift consisting of Icon Arms and OME BP-51 shocks and 285/70/17 BFG ATKM2. I plan on adding a front and rear bumper, very remote possibility of a winch at some point. I’d like to go one size wider and maybe one taller. But I really want a wider stance, as that’s how I ran my Jeeps. Always felt more stable that way.

I live in the PNW. However, I was recently drove it to the mountains of northers AZ and into Phoenix and then back home for family stuff. I noticed that in the mountains it was constantly searching for gears. I thought perhaps 4.56 and a front locker may make all the difference. Only adding the front locker because, why not right? The diff will be wide open and inviting….

Is it worth it to re-gear? What say the resident experts? I’m not interested in doing a supercharger, just looking at a possible re-gear. Thanks in advance!

 

When deciding on mods for a daily driver, keep in mind impacts on daily driving.

 

Regearing would help, but how often do you find yourself driving where it's gear hunting? Sounds like you only came across this issue on a recent trip but were fine before. You'll definitely lose MPG and be cruising at higher RPM's all the time, whether you find yourself in situations where the regear outweighs those negatives is up to you. I was considering going with 4.56's as well, but after talking with a lot of different people around the platform I came to the consensus that since I'm sticking with 33's it's not really worth it. When going with 34"+ and lots of additional weight from bumpers/winch/tent/etc the added weight makes 4.88's advantageous.

A tune might be more what you're looking for as they supposedly help give a little bump in torque to avoid so many gear changes.

 

Topic that never goes away and everyone has a different opinion. For inclines and elevation I would say yes regear or live with what you experienced gear hunting.

Flat lands most people can accept how it drives big tires without the re gear. You will notice the power difference as an improvement.

 

Regearing and Tune's are for WIMPS! What you need to do is a full engine swap. Toss a V8 in that bad boy so you can flex really hard on Instagram!

 

I would do everything else first, and then decide if you feel like it is needed. I carry a lot of constant weight, and have a roof rack, and 295/70/17 MT's. I feel like a regear would beneficial, but it's not a high priority. Others might find it miserable driving my 4Runner. It's going to come down to your personal experience.

FWIW, I sometimes cruise in S4 to reduce the gear hunting. With the 295's, I almost never use S5 or overdrive.

 

FWIW, I sometimes cruise in S4 to reduce the gear hunting. With the 295's, I almost never use S5 or overdrive.
@Thatbassguy -I agree.
I just came back from a 1500 mile trip to SW Utah and travelled the mountains of Northern AZ pulling a small travel trailer. I did use S4 and S5 a fair bit of the time and occasionally thought about regearing but still undecided.

 

358ci TRD Nascar cup engine, anything less is just feeble.

 

If you got the money then duh

 

Some say regearing will increase MPG, haven’t seems a definitive answer on this. Of course a lead foot wouldn’t regardless.

 

I think this will also come down to the individual. If your 4Runner is constantly downshifting, a regear might help get it to an RPM where it doesn't need to downshift as much, and could actually improve fuel economy.

You're totally correct that aggressive driving habits will kill your mileage, regardless of gearing.

 

^This.

Using "S" mode solves my gear hunting issues with 400 pounds of armor/ winch. On trips I'm loaded with a passenger and 250+ lbs of gear.
Also on 285/70/17's for reference. The truck handles it well honestly.

After starting a very similar thread to this and hearing everyones opinions I will likely push the stock gears into the next tire size. 295/70/17 or 285/75/17s.
If I regear I will go with 4.88s to run skinny 35's (35x11.5)

 

I did it. 456's and what a difference. The low end torque is day and night. I got a thread and some pictures etc and all of this. Good luck.

 

I'd wait till you get all the weight added and see how you like it then. I definitely don't think it would hurt if you have the budget for it. I've never seen anybody post about doing it and regretting it.

Honestly, I think these are a little undergeared from the factory.

 

I think it really depends how fast you are going regularly too. Most people say that 70mph cruising or lower and mpg increases. The higher you go above that, RPM's are sitting high so mpg tanks drastically. That is the reason I went with supercharger and not regear(yet). Between states I may cruise at 80-85 for 6 hours straight, which prevented me from going to 4.56's. It might be better on 35's with proper speedometer correction as rpm would read in a proper range.

 

True.

The supercharger, or even a good tune, can help reduce the gear hunting. I've been considering a tune for awhile now.

Cruising speed is a huge factor! With the 295's and roof rack, I get probably 12-13 MPG at 80-85. But, at 55-65 I can get 16-17.

 

Do the tune for sure! A small price to pay for good gains and optimized throttle behavior.

I have had @mZiggy Yotawerx Magnuson tune throughout the development process and it is a night and day difference. i would highly recommend them for tuning as they have great customer service and their tunes are really optimized. The roads have been a little wet here and I am finding that if I really give it some gas from a stop I am able to burnout pretty easily even on my 33" snow tires; not on purpose of course, just more power than expected especially on the low end.

I am getting 16mpg overall when not loaded up and 15mpg when loaded up with gear as is with stock gearing. My driving elevations range between 6500 and 12500ft. I would hate to go lower in mpg as it would be a point of diminishing returns especially since I go far off grid. I carry 10gal of gas on my RIG'd for this reason.

 

Re-gear has benefits all-around - slower crawl speed in 4low, added front locker. From 3.73 to 4.56 is 22% more torque to the wheels, so the truck will definitely feel more peppy. Do it if you have the funds.

On the Toyota platform, wider tires are harder to fit than tall skinny tires. For the same amount of fender and cab mount cutting, you can fit a larger diameter tire if you keep it narrow. A good example is Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT in 255/85R17, a 35" tire that most people can fit with a basic cab mount chop. And quickly you'll be able to run trails with Jeeps and out-wheel historically respected vehicles like Land Cruiser 80 or LR Defender 90.

 

Those benefits to regear would be nice for sure!

I think fitting 255/85r17 would take a lot more than a BMC though if you actually flex it out. I am mainly active on the other 4runner forum and was talking to someone who has been running them for a while. He said he did BMC, pinch weld mod, had to cut fenders 1" around the whole thing and hammer firewall. He said it still rubs and he is constantly hammering more and more on the firewall to stop the rubbing.

 

^Does that guy have a build thread in the other forum? Shouldn't need to do all that with the correct offset wheels (the +4mm TRD SEMA wheels do nicely) and adjustable UCAs which allow you to push the tire forward with the LCAs. However, a small deviation like -12mm offset wheels can greatly increase the amount of rubbing.

 

I believe he has a generalized build thread but he did not go over those details. I was messaging with him about it because I was looking at moving to 35's. He does have negative offset wheels, which did affect that but he said the tire diameter was large enough that it caused rubbing at full compression, enough that having better wheel offsets would have helped with some clearance, but not enough to mitigate not hammering the firewall at all.

It seems like 34's seems to be the safe limit which still requires bmc and pinch weld mod but not yet cutting fenders etc.

 

^Rubbing is usually worse at full compression with the tires turned, so negative offset wheels do hurt clearances in that situation too. A -12mm wheel causes the tire to swing on a 5/8" wider arc when steered compared to a +4mm wheel.

 

Understood. In the big picture he just told me that there was so much significant rubbing that it wouldn't have prevented hammering or fender cutting, it would have just been less.

 

Yes, LS swap it. One at the front, one at the back.

 

This sounds like that episode of Hot Rod Garage.

 

Ah yes. The Twinpala.
Great episode